Motion treatment machine



Feb. 22, 1955 N. F. FOY 2,702,541

MOTION TREATMENT MACHINE Filed Sept. 26, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet l Norman F. Fay

INVENTOR.

Feb. 22, 1955 o 2,702,541

MOTION TREATMENT MACHINE Filed Sept. 26, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Norman E F 0y INVENTOR.

Feb. 22, 1955 FQY 2,702,541

MOTION TREATMENT MACHINE Filed Sept. 26, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Norman E F o y INVENTOR.

Mm wm zi United States Patent MOTION TREATMENT MACHINE Norman F. Foy, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Application September 26, 1952, Serial No. 311,653

6 Claims. (Cl. 128-33) This invention relates in general to therapeutic devices, and more specifically to a motion treatment machine. The primary object of this invention is to provide an improved motion treatment machine in which an individual may be mounted for movement whereby the internal organs are caused to shift or lag behind in acceleration of the machine whereby a massage of the organs results to produce a livelier flow of blood through the various parts of the body..

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved therapeutic machine which massages the internal organs and results in a good supply of blood to the glands for their efficient functioning so as to produce a toning up of the endocrine glands and the nerves.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved motion treatment machine which includes a movable body supporting panel carried by a frame for a swinging motion and having-means associated therewith for swinging the same, said frame and body supporting panel being of relatively simple constructions whereby the same are economically feasible.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved drive means for a swinging body supporting panel, said drive means including a crank arm having adjustably connected thereto a drag link whereby the swinging of the body supporting panel may be selectively controlled.

With these objects definitely in view, this invention resides in certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of elements and portions as will be hereinafter described in detail in the specification, particularly pointed out in the appended claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form a material part of this application and in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of the motion treatment machine, which is the subject of this invention, and shows the general construction of a cabinet in which the same is mounted;

Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the motion treatment machine of Figure l with the panels, which form the cabinet, being removed in order to show the general construction of the machine, a rail and supporting wheels for the body supporting panel being omitted in order to clearly illustrate the possibility of the machine functioning without the, same;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 3-3 of Figure and shows the general construction of the body supporting panel, positions of the panel dur- 1ing the swinging movement thereof being shown by dotted mes;

Figure 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 44 of Figure 3 and shows the construction of the mounting means for the body supporting panel;

Figure 5 is a transverse horizontal sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 55 of Figure 3 and shows the general construction of the cabinet of the motion treating machine of Figure Figure 6 is an enlarged side elevational view of a crank arm, which forms part of the actuating means for the motion treatment machine, and shows the general relationship of an adjustable connection between the crank arm and a drag link;

Figure 7 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken 2,702,541 Patented Feb. 22, 1955 crank arm is mounted with respect to the cabinet of the motion treatment machine; and

Figure 8 is an enlarged transverse vertical sectional view taken through the connecting link between the crank arm and the drag link and shows the manner in which the connecting link is selectively secured to the crank arm.

Similar characters of reference designate similar or identical elements and portions throughout the specification and throughout the dilferent views of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, it will be seen that there is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 in particular the major portions of the motion treatment machine, which is the subject of this invention. The motion treatment machine includes an elongated rectangular framework, which is referred to in general by the reference numeral 10. It will be noted that the framework 10 is in the form of a housing and is built of a plurality of structural members secured together. The frame 10 has secured thereto a plurality of panels to form a cabinet, which is referred to in general by the reference numeral 12. It will be noted that the front wall 14 of the cabinet 12 is provided adjacent one end with a vertically extending access door 16 and a pair of horizontally extending access doors 18, the access doors 18 being positioned in approximately the center of the front wall 14 and intermediate the upper and lower edges thereof.

Carried by the structural members forming the frame 10 are a pair of transversely aligned spaced pillar blocks 20 which have journaled therein a transversely extending shaft 22, the shaft 22 being positioned adjacent the upper edges of the frame 10 and approximately at the midpoint thereof. As is best illustrated in Figures 2 and 4, the transversely extending shaft 22 has mounted thereon adjacent the ends thereof spacers 26 which engage the inner ends of the pillar blocks 20 and spaced longitudinally extending hanger bars 24 therefrom. It will be understood that the spacers 26 are in the form of lengths of tubing and are secured to their respective hanger bars 24 together with other lengths of tubing 28 to form elongated supports for the hanger bars 24.

Referring now to Figure 2 in particular, it will be seen that secured to the outer faces of the hanger bars 24 and extending downwardly therefrom in diverging relation are pairs of diagonal braces 30 which have their lower ends secured to side edges of a body supporting frame 32. The hanger bar 24 adjacent the rear edge of the cabinet 12 also has secured thereto a brace 34 which extends vertically and is connected to the rear side edge of the body supporting frame 32 at the midpoint thereof.

It will be understood that the body supporting frame 32 is in the form of a carriage pivotally carried by the transverse shaft 22 and is adapted to receive a patient for swinging movement. The body supporting frame 32 is of a considerable depth so as to prevent the accidental shifting of a patient out of the same. In order that the patient may conveniently lie within the body sup porting frame 32, the lower portion thereof is provided with a horizontally extending spring 36 on which is mounted a body supporting panel 38 which may be in the form of a mattress or other type of relatively comfortable pad.

Referring now to Figures 2 and 5 in particular, it will be seen that the frame 10 is provided at one end thereof with a transversely extending platform 40, the platform 40 being positioned adjacent the bottom of the frame 10. Mounted on the platform 40 is a power unit in the form of an electric motor 42 which has mounted on its armature shaft 44 a drive pulley 46. Aligned with the drive pulley 46 is a driven pulley 48 of a speed changing mechanism 50, the pulleys 46 and 48 being connected by a drive belt 51 which is entrained thereover. Carried by a second shaft of the speed changing mechanism 50 is a pulley 52, the pulley 52 being adapted to rotate a different speed from the pulley' 48. It will be understood that the speed changing elements are mounted within the housing of the speed changing mechanism 50 and that the same are controlled by a handle 54 which extends upwardly through the housing of the speed changing mechanism.

The pulley 52 of the speed changing mechanism 50 is aligned with a pulley 54 of a gear box 56 and is operatively connected to the pulley 52 by a drive belt 58. Projecting out of the gear box 56 at right angles to the shaft on which the pulley 54 is mounted is a second shaft on which is mounted a pulley 60. It will be noted that the pulley 60 is aligned with a pulley 62 and is connected thereto by a drive belt 64.

Referring now to Figure 7 in particular, it will be seen that the pulley 62 is keyed on a shaft 66 by a key 68, the shaft 66 being mounted on a pillar block 20 carried by the frame 10. Also keyed to the shaft 66 by the key 68 is a crank arm 70 which is adapted to be rotated in response to the rotation of the pulley 62 and the shaft 66.

Referring now to Figures 3 and 6 in particular, it Will be seen that extending between the crank arm 72 and the brace 34, which is carried by the shaft 22 and aids in the supporting of the body supporting framework 32, is a drag link 74. The drag link 74 is pivotally connected at one end to the brace 34 by a pivot pin 76 and at the other end to a connecting link 78 by a pivot pin 80. It will be understood that the connecting link 78 is in the form of a sleeve slidably mounted on the crank arm 72 and adapted to be adjustably positioned thereon in order to vary the effective stroke of the drag link 74 whereby the swinging of the body supporting frame 32 may be controlled. In order that the connecting link 78 may be adjustably positioned on the crank arm 72, the crank arm 72 is provided at spaced intervals with notches 82 in the side edges thereof. The connecting link 78 has pivotally connected thereto a latch element 84 which is adapted to be selectively engaged within one of said notches 82 in order to retain the connecting link in an adjusted position on the crank arm 72. It will be noted that the latch element 84 is retained in position within one of the notches 82 by a compression spring 86 which extends between the connecting link 78 and an upper part of the latch element 84.

It will be seen that when the electric motor 42 is operating, the crank arm 72, which is driven by the electric motor through the various drive means, is rotating. The rotation of crank arm 72 imparts a reciprocating movement to the drag link 74 which in turn urges swinging movement of the body supporting frame 32 and the associated elements attached thereto. arrangement of the speed changing mechanism 50, the rate of swing of the body supporting frame 32 may be regulated to the desired speed. Also, by adjusting the connecting link 78 with respect to the crank arm 72, the effective swinging movement of the body supporting frame 32 may be varied.

Referring now to Figure 3 in particular, it will be seen that the body supporting frame 32 has depending downwardly therefrom adjacent each side edge thereof a pair of hangers 88 which have mounted thereon wheels 90. Each pair of wheels 90 is in engagement with a longitudinally curved rail 92 carried by the frame in vertical alignment with the associated wheels. It will be understood that while the wheels 90 and the rail 92 are not absolutely necessary, the wheels and rails do form additional supports for the body supporting frame 32 and function as an extra safety feature of the motion treating machine in order to prevent injury to a patient mounted therein.

It will be understood that a patient enters the motion treating machine through the doors 18 in the front wall 14,of the cabinet 12. In order that the entrance of a patient into the body supporting frame 32 may be further facilitated, a front panel 94 thereof is formed to be removable, the panel 94 being best illustrated in Figure 3. It will be understood that the patient may be strapped within the body supporting frame in any conventional manner if it is deemed to be necessary.

It will be noted that all of the drive mechanism of the motion treating machine is mounted in a compact arrangement at one end of the frame 10. Inasmuch as the cabinet 12 makes the drive means relatively inaccessible, it will be seen that the access door 16, which is in alignment with that portion of the frame 10 in which the drive means is mounted permits ready access to the drive means.

By varying the When a patient is placed in the body supporting frame 12 and the same has imparted thereto a swinging movement, the skeleton of the patient is moved swiftly from the level position to a tilting position which tends to cause the internal organs to shift or lag behind because of acceleration of the skeleton of the body with the extra pull of gravity. This causes a massaging of the organs which produces a livelier fiow of blood through the various parts of the body. As glands require a good blood supply for their efiicient functioning, this produces a toning up of the endocrine glands and the nerves. In short, the swinging of a patient in the body supporting frame 32 establishes better activity of all the physiologic functions of the body when they are under active.

The operation of this device will be understood from the foregoing description of the details thereof, taken in connection with the above recited objects and the drawings. Further description would appear to be unnecessary.

Minor modifications of the device, varying in minor details from the embodiment of the device illustrated and described here, may be resorted to without departure from the spirit and scope of this invention, as defined in the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. A therapeutic device comprising a cabinet including a supporting frame, a body supporting panel mounted within said cabinet for swinging movement, drive means mounted at one end of said cabinet for imparting a swinging motion to said body supporting panel, access doors in said cabinet for permitting access to both said drive means and said body supporting panel, said drive means including a crank arm and a drag link, said drag link being pivotally connected to both said crank arm and said body supporting panel, said drag link being adjustably connected to said crank arm for varying the swing of said body supporting panel, said body supporting panel being provided with wheels engaged with a track.

2. A therapeutic device comprising a supporting frame, a body supporting panel mounted within said supporting frame for swinging movement, drive means carried by said frame for imparting swinging movement to said body supporting panel, said drive means including a crank arm and a drag link, said drag link being pivotally connected at one end to said body supporting panel, a collar pivotally secured to the other end of said drag link, said collar being slidably mounted on said crank arm and selectively adjustable longitudinally thereof for varying the swing of said body supporting panel, said crank arm being provided with a plurality of longitudinally spaced recesses along the edges thereof and said collar being provided with a spring pressed dog thereon for engaging a selected one of said recesses whereby the connection of the drag link to said crank arm will be varied.

3. A therapeutic device comprising a supporting frame, a body supporting panel mounted within said supporting frame for swinging movement, drive means carried by said frame for imparting swinging movement to said body supporting panel, said drive means including a crank arm and a drag link, said drag link being pivotally connected at one end to said body supporting panel, a collar pivotally secured to the other end of said drag link, said collar being slidably mounted on said crank arm and selectively adjustable longitudinally thereof for varying the swing of said body supporting panel, a track mounted on said frame and underlying said body supporting panel, said body supporting panel being provided with wheels engaging said track.

4. A therapeutic device comprising a cabinet including a supporting frame, a body supporting panel mounted within said cabinet for swinging movement, drive means mounted at one end of said cabinet for imparting a swinging motion to said body supporting panel, access doors in said cabinet for permitting access to both said drive means and said body supporting panel, said drive means including a crank arm and a drag link, said drag link being pivotally connected at one end to said body supporting panel, a collar pivotally secured to the other end of said drag link, said collar being slidably mounted on said crank arm and selectively adjustable longitudinally thereof for varying the swing of said body supporting panel, said crank arm being provided with a plurality of longitudinally spaced recesses along the edges thereof and said collar being provided with a spring pressed dog thereon for engaging a selected one of said recesses whereby the connection of the drag link to said crank arm will be varied.

5. A therapeutic device comprising a cabinet including a supporting frame, a body supporting panel mounted within said cabinet for swinging movement, drive means mounted at one end of said cabinet for imparting a swinging motion to said body supporting panel, access doors in said cabinet for permitting access to both said drive means and said body supporting panel, said drive means including a crank arm and a drag link, said drag link being pivotally connected at one end to said body supporting panel, a collar pivotally secured to the other end of said drag link, said collar being slidably mounted on said crank arm and selectively adjustable longitudinally thereof for varying the swing of said body sup porting panel, said crank arm being provided with a plurality of longitudinally spaced recesses along the edges thereof and said collar being provided with a spring pressed dog thereon for engaging a selected one of said recesses whereby the connection of the drag link to said crank arm will be varied, a track mounted on said frame and underlying said body supporting panel, said body sup iorting panel provided with wheels engaging said trac said drag link being pivotally connected atone end to said body supporting panel, a collar pivotally secured to the other end of said drag link, said collar being slidably mounted on said crank arm and selectively adjustable longitudinally thereof for varying the swing of said body supporting panel, a track mounted on said frame and underlying said body supporting panel, said body supportinlg panel being provided with wheels engaging said trac References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 821,219 Clow May 22, 1906 989,517 Turmelle Apr. 11, 1911 2,104,745 Howell et al. Jan. 11, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS 283,298 Germany Nov. 25, 1921 

